Today we have the pleasure of interviewing Francesco D’Acri, Country Manager Italy of PrestaShop, one of the leading open-source eCommerce platforms in Europe and Latin America. To give you a few numbers: PrestaShop now has almost 300,000 shops worldwide generating more than €24 billion in online sales.
With a background in astrophysics, a background as a project manager in major companies, and an innate creativity that drives him to think outside the box and accept new challenges, Francesco now leads the development of PrestaShop in Italy with a vision that combines innovation, growth and strategies tailored to the Italian market.
In this interview, we find out how PrestaShop supports entrepreneurs and companies in the transformation of online commerce, with a focus on logistics and delivery.
Francesco, thank you for your availability. Let’s start by giving our readers some background information. Who does the PrestaShop ecosystem consist of?
PrestaShop’s ecosystem includes over 900 PrestaShop Experts (web agencies), more than 150 partners (covering payments, marketing, logistics and customer relationship management), and a global community of 1 million members. PrestaShop merchants, therefore, benefit not only from the platform, but from our entire rich ecosystem that provides merchants with all the tools and support they need to keep up with evolving market trends and meet consumer demands.
What are the best-selling product categories on PrestaShop?
The flexibility of PrestaShop allows merchants to thrive in different sectors, which is why there is no one category that clearly dominates over the others. However, there are clear growth trends in some sectors, particularly in fashion and the second-hand market. The shift towards more sustainable consumption has increased demand for second-hand fashion, vintage items and products related to the circular economy. This reflects a broader global movement towards eco-conscious shopping, where consumers prefer to reuse and recycle rather than buy new products.
Besides fashion, there is growth in alternative consumption models such as subscription services and product rental, especially in categories such as furniture and technology, as consumers seek more flexibility and convenience than ownership.
There are also very complex and structured sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, which benefit from the particular flexibility of PrestaShop and, for this reason, we find a very high relative penetration compared to other platforms.
From your point of view, in which direction is the Italian eCommerce market going? Do you see any peculiarities compared to other countries?
The eCommerce market in Italy has seen significant growth, with rates stabilising from the peak experienced during the pandemic period. Today, Italian consumers are increasingly adopting an omnichannel approach, combining online and in-store purchases. By 2023, the Italian B2B eCommerce market was worth over EUR 529 billion, with an increasing focus on the integration of value-added systems and services. Areas such as payment management and logistics solutions are crucial to improve operational efficiency and customer experience. Italian companies, especially in B2B, are investing in technologies that enable a smoother management of various processes, from performance analysis to logistics. This focus on integration is reflected in the growing importance of providing services that link different operational tools to create a more seamless and competitive user experience. The integration of value-added modules and solutions, such as automated shipping services or performance monitoring, is therefore a key success factor for Italian companies today.
As you pointed out, Fashion and Design are industries that are experiencing strong international growth. What added value does PrestaShop offer these industries?
In the men’s fashion sector, exports recorded a turnover of EUR 5.4 billion in 2023, with strong demand in countries such as France, Germany and the United States. The design sector also continues to play a key role internationally. For merchants using platforms such as PrestaShop, these international successes represent a great opportunity. PrestaShop’s open-source technology allows them to capitalise on this growing demand by offering flexible eCommerce solutions that facilitate cross-border sales. With logistics integration modules, payment gateways and multilingual functionality, merchants can sell fashion and design products to a global audience while maintaining control over their brand and customer experience. Furthermore, with consumer preferences evolving towards sustainable and customised products, merchants using PrestaShop are well positioned to capitalise on these trends by being able to offer tailored and eco-conscious products. In conclusion, the combination of Italy’s strong international reputation in the fashion and design sectors and the flexibility of platforms such as PrestaShop creates a favourable environment for these sectors to grow on the global stage.
In your opinion, how can the delayed digitisation of SMEs be a factor in the Italian eCommerce market?
It is important to see this challenge as an opportunity for growth and innovation. Italy ranks 18th in the EU according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), with a score below the European average. Historical factors that have slowed this process include low labour costs, which have reduced the urgency for many Italian companies to adopt digital technologies. However, the pandemic period has pushed many SMEs to adopt digital tools: the sectors most affected by the crisis have been the least digitised, demonstrating a clear correlation between digital preparedness and resilience. Despite this, many SMEs still struggle with the basics of digital transformation, such as the implementation of eCommerce platforms or the use of cloud systems. To overcome these difficulties, the Italian government has put in place initiatives such as the Impresa 4.0 Plan, which promotes digital innovation hubs and competence centres to support SMEs in their digital transformation journey. For SMEs, especially those using platforms such as PrestaShop, the adoption of digital technologies can unlock new growth opportunities, facilitating access to larger markets, improving operational efficiency and offering better customer engagement through data-driven strategies. Investing in digital solutions will enable these companies to compete more effectively both domestically and internationally.
What are the main ‘trends’ you observe in the PrestaShop ecosystem with regard to logistics?
In a thriving market, where shipping volumes continue to grow – monthly deliveries of products purchased online in Italy were more than 30 million in 2022 -, many operators have recently entered with new business models, expanding the role of intermediaries in deliveries. Before, the seller could only refer to traditional operators such as couriers or carriers, brokers or warehouse operators. Today, on the other hand, new warehouse operators specialising in eCommerce, large retailers and marketplaces becoming logistics operators, as well as new forms of intermediation for smaller entities are emerging. Thus, both options and intermediaries, delivery platforms and means are multiplying.
In this context, the strategy of the ‘e-fulfillment providers’ emerges in particular, which manage to offer most of these aspects and services together, such as warehouse delivery, customer service and management software. We are now witnessing what could be described as a ‘delivery war’: there is strong competition between the large delivery players, a real ‘price war’, triggered by volume competition. In contrast, smaller logistics players play a different and more multifaceted game, in which proximity, size, investment and specialisation – the product category in which they operate – are all crucial to their competitiveness.
How much impact do logistics and operations have on eCommerce development today?
Logistics and operations are key elements in eCommerce, as they directly affect customer satisfaction, delivery efficiency and overall business scalability. With increasing customer expectations of fast and flexible deliveries, many merchants on PrestaShop are investing in advanced logistics solutions such as multi-carrier shipping, inventory optimisation and pick-up points. Logistics efficiency is thus no longer just an operational issue, but a key factor in customer satisfaction and loyalty, making it central to the success of online businesses.
In general, the growth of eCommerce in Italy has significantly boosted the demand for optimised logistics solutions. In 2023, the logistics market in Italy was worth USD 221.12 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% until 2032. This expansion is largely fuelled by the increasing complexity and volume of eCommerce transactions, pushing companies to optimise their logistics operations to remain competitive. To address these challenges, PrestaShop Shipping, in collaboration with Mail Boxes Etc., has developed a comprehensive solution. The module enables PrestaShop merchants to manage shipping operations efficiently by integrating multiple couriers, automating label generation and providing real-time tracking. This allows merchants to easily manage both direct and reverse logistics, reduce errors, improve customer satisfaction, optimise shipping processes, handle higher order volumes and offer a smoother customer experience.
Today, more and more consumers are demanding alternative delivery solutions to traditional home delivery. What is PrestaShop doing concretely to help online shops meet this demand?
At PrestaShop we recognise the growing demand for alternative delivery options, such as proximity logistics, which is becoming increasingly important in the eCommerce landscape. For this reason, PrestaShop is committed to helping merchants meet the needs of consumers by making it easier to offer sustainable and convenient delivery alternatives to traditional home delivery.
To help online shops respond to this trend, we offer merchants a range of solutions, including our partnership with GEL Proximity. With this module, PrestaShop merchants can easily integrate over 300,000 Pick-up Points in Italy and Europe, offering customers flexible and sustainable delivery options. By enabling proximity logistics, online shops can reduce abandonment at checkout, improve the user experience and significantly increase first-time delivery success rates. Furthermore, as an open-source platform, PrestaShop gives merchants total control over their shop operations. This flexibility allows them to easily implement and customise alternative delivery and return options, such as those offered by GEL Proximity, to suit the specific needs of their business. In this way, they can quickly respond to consumer demands for more flexible, cost-effective and even sustainable shipping solutions, as remember that this approach helps reduce shipping costs and CO₂ emissions.
